Monday, September 21, 2015

You can’t miss hearing about the horrors of being a Syrian
refugee at the moment. Whatever mode of
news you open or turn on each day, there are more stories to let us know just
how terrible the crisis is. I don’t know how many times I’ve read about how
someone hopes and yearns for a place to settle and just live their lives in
peace.

September 21st marks the UN International Day of Peace, a day “devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and
among all nations and peoples.”

Seems to me that we might have a ways to go on this one.

Here are a few recommendations to open discussions and explore issues:

The Toa Te Ching poses the question, how can we bring peace
to the world?. Using beautiful quotes
and illustrations the big concept of peace is explored, from a global
perspective to more personal one.

A historical novel that looks at the trials and tribulations
of preteens during the period of the Cuban Missile crisis in the 60s. Included
are all sorts of primary document sources like headlines of news articles,
songs, poetry, and government pamphlets about safety if a nuclear bomb should
be dropped.

Thanadelthur was a Chipewyan woman, who worked to establish
peace with the Cree to promote better trade relations with the Hudson’s Bay
Company in the early 1700s. This short
play could be used for readers’ theatre.

Not the easiest of reads but illuminating nevertheless. Martin recounts her time and the people she
met while living in a village in Sierra Leone. She explains how civil war has played a huge
part in contributing to brutal living conditions which continue to impact the
villagers.

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About Me

I am the reference coordinator at The Doucette Library of Teaching Resources, a curriculum library in the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary.
I love connecting education students and teachers with engaging and exciting resources for classroom teaching. I believe that resources that get me excited (or those that get you excited) are the ones with the best potential to get kids interested in learning about - well, everything. Finding those books that connect to the real world are the ones I enjoy promoting the most.